4 hurt in ambulance-pickup crash in Ulster

Sunday

May 19, 2013 at 2:00 AM

ULSTER — A Mobile Life Support Services paramedic is in critical condition and an emergency medical technician was injured after their ambulance collided head-on with a pickup truck Saturday on Route 32, the Ulster County Sheriff's Office said.

Leonard Sparks

ULSTER — A Mobile Life Support Services paramedic is in critical condition and an emergency medical technician was injured after their ambulance collided head-on with a pickup truck Saturday on Route 32, the Ulster County Sheriff's Office said.

William Spadafora, 43, of Hurley, had to be extricated from the ambulance he was driving after it collided with a 2002 Dodge pickup at about 6:55 a.m. near Platt Lane in the Town of Ulster, officials said.

He was then flown to Albany Medical Center with multiple serious injuries, police said.

Gigi Williams, an EMT riding with Spadafora, was taken to Kingston Hospital with a head injury.

Williams, also of Hurley, was then moved to Albany Medical Center in stable condition, said Andrew LaMarca, director of development for Mobile Life.

The driver of the pickup, Marco Ochoa, 18, of Kingston, also had to be extricated, police said.

He and a passenger, Reyes Lucero, 21, were both taken to Kingston Hospital with minor injuries, according to police.

"To the best of our knowledge, Gigi is stable," LaMarca said. "Bill has undergone surgery, and I guess there will be a number of procedures."

The ambulance was traveling north on Route 32 when it collided with the pickup truck heading south, Bloomington fire Chief Kevin Keller said.

"It was significant damage to both vehicles, and the ambulance had a slight engine fire," Keller said.

In addition to Bloomington fire personnel, both the Kingston and Rosendale fire departments responded with extrication equipment, Keller said.